Licences - occasional licence

What does the law require?

An Occasional Licence is required to temporarily authorise the sale of alcohol in unlicensed premises for a short period of time of not more than 14 days.

An occasional licence can also be used by premises which hold members club licences to authorise the sale of alcohol to non-members for a specific occasion.

Occasional Licence Application  

View the Pending Occasional licences

Fees

The fee is £10 

Payment will be requested at the end of the online application process. If you are submitting a physical copy of the application to the One Stop Shop you will also need to access the online application process. You will be given the option indicating that you are submitting a physical copy of the application and this will take you straight to the payment screen.

What do I need to consider?

In order to apply for an occasional licence, you are required to be one of the following persons:

• The holder of a premises licence
• The holder of a personal licence
• A representative of any voluntary organisation.

Can I be refused an occasional licence?

We shall refuse an application to grant a licence where:

• the premises to which the application relates are excluded premises
• the application must be refused under section 64(2) 24 hour licences to be granted only in exceptional circumstances or 65(3) Licensed hours: off-sales
• that the Licensing Board considers the granting of the application would be inconsistent with one or more of the licensing objectives
• that, having regard to
  • the nature of the activities proposed to be carried on in the premises to which the application relates
  • the location, character and condition of the premises, and
  • the persons likely to frequent the premises,
• The Board considers that the premises are unsuitable for use for the sale of alcohol

You may wish to consider seeking legal advice from a Solicitor.

How will you deal with my application?

We will give notice of your application to the Police and the Licensing Standards Officer and consult with them regarding your application.

We will also place notice of your application on the pending occasional licence page, including particulars relating to your application such as the personal details of the applicant, the location or premises relating to the application and also details of the event you intend to be licensed. Any member of the public has the right to make comments in relation to the application.

If your application is deemed non-contentious, we should be able to grant your licence without referring the decision to the Licensing Board. 'Non-contentious' means any application which has not resulted in any objections or representations, where the applicant has no criminal convictions, and where there is no conflict with the Statement of Licensing policy. Contentious applications will be required to be determined by the Licensing Board.

We will attach conditions to any licence we grant and we may take action to ensure that you comply with those conditions.

When will a decision be made?

We aim to make a decision on your application within 35 calendar days. This assumes that your application is not contentious. Your application will take longer to process if it becomes contentious (for example, if we receive objections or representations) and if that is the case we will keep you informed of the revised timescale.

What happens if you don't make a decision within the target time?

Tacit authorisation does not apply because there is an overriding reason relating to the public interest, namely the need to protect public health. Therefore if you have still not received a decision after the target time has expired, your authorisation is not granted automatically. In such a situation, we will get in touch with you to let you know what happens next.

Please note that you must not carry on the activity for which you have applied for a licence unless or until you have been granted a licence.

What can I do if I'm not satisfied?

If you are unhappy with the way we have processed your application please contact us at the address above.

How does the Council handle objections and representations?

Find out more about objections and representations